Much like its game earlier in the week against Texas, the Wolfpack men’s basketball team used a huge run against Elon to pull ahead for good and win the game.
The difference – this run came at the beginning of the first half rather than the end of the game.
N.C. State (5-1 overall, 0-0 ACC) played in the first of three games at historic Reynolds Coliseum on Wednesday night and came away with a 82-67 win over Elon (3-2) in blowout fashion.
While the 20-2 run in the first half was reminiscent of the final run to win the game over the Longhorns, sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown said another game has been on their mind all week.
“We were still upset from that lost to Vanderbilt,” Brown said. “We have some anger that we need to take out on people. I thought we played well.”
The story of the night was the impressive performance by Brown overall. The sophomore not only put up a career-high 21 points, but also finished with six rebounds and six assists.
As he went to the bench for the last time, he earned a resounding applause from the 7,315 fans in attendance.
Coach Mark Gottfried said Brown used smart shot selection to lead the team in points.
“In the first half, I felt Lorenzo was terrific,” Gottfried said. “I think a great point guard can score when he needs to score. He’s getting better at when to attack and when not to and how to get into the paint.”
The performance also earned high praise from teammate Scott Wood, a junior forward, following the game.
“He’s amazing,” Wood said jokingly. “No, but seriously; I’ve always told him that he needs to look to score. He’s our point guard and I think he’s too unselfish at times. He just has to know when to look to score and when to pass. I think he’s doing a great job of that this year.”
Though Wood felt he needs to be looking to shoot more often, Brown said he’s happy letting others shine if it means the team finishes on top.
“I’m always a pass-first guy,” Brown said. “I know they can knock down shots. Now, if I’m open, I’m going to shoot. But it’s always these guys first before me.”
While Brown was the star of the game, Wood compiled all 15 of his points from outside the arc, knocking down five of six three-pointers in the game.
Wood has been hampered by an ankle injury sustained against Princeton which kept him out of the matchup with Vanderbilt, but said he feels good enough to continue playing.
“It’s not 100 percent by any means,” Wood said. “But it’s getting the job done for the most part so I can’t complain.”
While Wood controlled the outside shot and Brown used a multitude of different shots to get the job done, sophomore forward C.J. Leslie turned in a solid performance inside the paint with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Pack will next play Indiana on Nov. 30 in the ACC-Big Ten challenge in a 7:15 p.m. tip-off at the RBC Center.
Wood, a native of Marion, Ind ., said the game against the Hoosiers meant a lot to him, not only as a member of the Pack, but also for when he returns home.
“It’s going to be fun,” Wood said. “That’s the only thing really to say about it. I know a lot of players from over there and when I go home I’m going to have a lot of bragging rights if we win or I’m going to be hearing it from a lot of people if we lose.”
